BCCI awaits Govt. clearance to play at Sharjah

Though many in the BCCI feel that the government may give a go-ahead looking at the noble cause BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele said the proposal was still to be cleared.

“I have had a few talks with the sports ministry but nothing has been finalised as yet. We are still to receive a clearance,” Lele said while speaking to òf40óThe Indian Express from his residence in Baroda on Friday evening.

The Cricketers’ Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) which will play host to the tournament has promised to raise Rs 20 crores as relief for the quake affected.

If the tour is cleared then the team’s preparations for Australia’s tour of India will be severely affected. The probables’ camp for the Australia series February 6 and the one-day Challenger Series is scheduled February 13-20.

Moreover, the India-Pak cricket relations have suffered badly following the Kargil war in 1999. India has not played Pakistan for the past 19 months. The last they met was in the World Cup where India had emerged victors. Then Kargil conflict soured relations and the Sahara Cup in Toronto was cancelled followed by the Government’s refusal for India’s return trip to Pakistan.